My mother to this day will tell you that I was not fat growing up. There are pictures in my book that prove otherwise…Oh the love of a mother. Fat gene or skinny gene…it’s a roll of the genetic dice that I lost. I believe that it was my mother’s point of view that inevitably gave me mine. I have a very good friend that has struggled with her weight since childhood too but she has told me before how her mother would make negative comments about her weight rather than being supportive. I think she has bitter feelings about being fat directly related to this. I know that given the opportunity to be left alone with little Johnny who did not pick her for the kickball team in the fifth grade – because she was the “fat kid” – it could get a little messy….and not for her. My mother never harped at me about my weight or told me I was fat. According to her I was just “big-boned.” To me I was fat. Today I am fat. I am not angry about, mad at anybody because of it, and know that there are reasons for it but also know that even as I lose weight I will never be skinny. And I do not want to be skinny. I was not born to be a skinny chick even if my doctor tells me that at my height of 5’6” and large frame I should weigh something like 130. Sorry, that is never going to happen – it is a physical improbability!

In Making Light of Being Heavy there are pictures of me at around 170 my senior year in high school. I had dieted like mad to get into a dress that I bought for senior prom and I was “skinny.” I can remember my dad coming up beside me at the dinner table one night pointing out my shoulder bone and hip bone and telling me to stop with the dieting. But according to the weight guidelines I was obese!

People should find a comfortable weight for them and consider that their weight guideline and just smile politely at their doctor who whips out the chart that says otherwise. A person’s main focus should be that they are healthy. I may be fat but I am healthy. People will ask how that is possible… if I am fat I must automatically be unhealthy. I am 44 and even though I am considered in the medical field “obese,” I do not have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, varicose veins, joint problems, etc. Am I just lucky?

With a bunch of butt shots with measurements (yes I said measurements!) coming up to the slow rocking beat of stripper music, my video Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs definitely has the market cornered on making light of being heavy 🙂 Making Light of Being Heavy is a comical book with opinions and observations from a fat chick’s point of view that puts an unexpected and funny spin on dealing with the fat gene!

First let me intro this with a little history. Many may recall the show The Love Boat back in the 1980’s. I loved that show! I still remember the song – “…The Love Boat soon will be making another run, The Love Boat promises something for everyone, set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance…” I used to daydream about being on a cruise ship and going to exciting places and having fun all night dancing and going to the shows.

I couldn’t wait until the day I could go on a cruise myself and the day did finally come a couple of years after my son was born. We were going on a five-day Carnival cruise stopping in Key West and Cozumel. I was so excited. It was everything I had imagined and even better with yummy drinks, great entertainment, and food everywhere – that is until I went to use the shower. Now I understand that they design these ships for maximum capacity and that is all good unless you are a little heavier than the average cruiser. I was attempting to take a shower in my luxurious shower stall, which seriously didn’t appear to be more than a foot wide, when it seemed like there was a problem with the water. It kept going on and off, on and off. I was starting to get a little irritated until I realized that with every move I made because it was such a tight fit I kept hitting the knob and turning the water on and off! I still laugh when I think about it!

With a bunch of butt shots with measurements (yes I said measurements!) coming up to the slow rocking beat of stripper music, my video Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs definitely has the market cornered on making light of being heavy 🙂 Making Light of Being Heavy is a comical book with opinions and observations from a fat chick’s point of view that puts an unexpected and funny spin on dealing with the fat gene!

I recently came across this Australian article, “Graphic advertisements showing damaged vital organs or people drinking liquefied body fat should be used to shock Victorians into giving up junk food and sugary soft drinks, health groups have proposed. The Australian Medical Association says campaigns promoting healthy eating habits and exercise have failed to curb the obesity epidemic and shock tactics are now needed.”

“They want a campaign modeled on recent New York City health department ads, which showed a man drinking a beaker full of body fat, and shoveling down 16 sachets of sugar.”

Yeah, I think that will work!! Not. This is another example of the general mentality that anyone who is “obese” is just kicking back on the couch stuffing their face with Oreos, pizza, cheese curls, and intravenous soda. They are comparing this to the anti-smoking commercials which show body organs that are damaged from smoking. The one factual difference is that obesity is not always directly related to food intake whereas damage from smoking is directly related to the act of smoking. Period.

With a bunch of butt shots with measurements (yes I said measurements!) coming up to the slow rocking beat of stripper music, my video Fat Chicks and Unfriendly Chairs definitely has the market cornered on making light of being heavy 🙂 Making Light of Being Heavy is a comical book with opinions and observations from a fat chick’s point of view that puts an unexpected and funny spin on dealing with the fat gene!